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Conway excuses 'assassination attempt' retweet

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The Secret Service ushered Trump off stage briefly in Nevada on Saturday

Conway called the situation "scary"

Washington (CNN)Donald Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said it was "scary" when the Secret Service had to force Trump off stage during a rally on Saturday.

"It's scary -- I mean, all the coverage is usually about our protesters wreaking havoc and making people feel afraid, and it certainly goes both ways," Conway said Sunday during the at-times contentious interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."

"I'm glad nobody was hurt, but it does remind you that in these closing days -- especially as the polls tighten -- many of us are getting more death threats, getting more angry messages on social media and elsewhere, and it's a pretty fraught environment there," she said.

But she deflected questions about why Donald Trump Jr. and Trump social media director Dan Scavino retweeted comments describing what occurred as an assassination attempt, when no such attempt took place. Trump supporters had incorrectly thought the protester had a gun.

"If you're Don Jr. and you're on a live TV set while you're watching this unfold, it's pretty rattling to think of what may have happened to your father, so I'll excuse him that," Conway said.

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Tapper pushed back: "We're very happy that this was not an assassination attempt, but why is your campaign spreading that it was?"

Conway responded: "Well, how do you -- first of all, that's really remarkable, I have to say, that that's what the story line is here."

Conway also addressed a local GOP official's claims that polls in Clark County, home of Las Vegas, were kept open late so a "certain group" could vote -- a thinly veiled reference to Latino voters.

"We just always want the laws followed and the rules followed, and I do predict that you're going to see really long lines -- serpentine-like lines of Tuesday -- of folks there for Donald Trump on Tuesday," Conway said.

She said it's concerning that Clinton benefits from "special favors and perhaps special rules" -- as Tapper pointed out that it's not uncommon to keep polls open so that those already in line can vote.